Banh trang lui works because the filling and the sauce pull in different directions. A lightly seasoned filling gives the tamarind sauce room to speak. The filling is pork, wood ear mushroom, carrot, jicama and bell pepper, stir fried together for 5 to 7 minutes and cooled before rolling.
For the sauce, 50g of tamarind pulp steeps in 50ml boiling water for 5 minutes, gets strained, then simmers gently for about 5 minutes until it thickens.
This batch weighs about 1kg, at roughly 228 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel the jicama and carrot, rinse them, cut into strands and then chop fine. Seed the bell pepper and cut it into thin strips.
Soak the wood ear mushroom in warm water for 20 minutes until it swells, trim the stems, rinse, slice and chop fine. Slice the spring onion, mince the shallot and garlic, and shave the lemongrass thin before mincing it.
Rinse the pork with salt, rinse it clear, grind it fine and marinate with 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1/2 teaspoon pepper for 15 minutes.
Fry half of the minced shallot and garlic in 2 tablespoons cooking oil until fragrant, add the pork and stir fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes until cooked through.
Add the carrot, jicama, wood ear mushroom and bell pepper and stir fry together for 5 to 7 minutes, keeping the seasoning light since the tamarind sauce comes later. Stir in the spring onion, then turn off the heat and leave to cool.
Lay out the rice paper, add the filling, roll it up and thread onto bamboo skewers, then grill or fry until golden. Boiled quail eggs and cut pieces of sausage go on the same skewers.
Make the tamarind sauce. Steep 50g tamarind pulp in 50ml boiling water for 5 minutes, mash it and strain out the pulp.
Fry the remaining lemongrass, garlic and shallot in 2 tablespoons cooking oil until fragrant, then add the tamarind liquid, 1/2 bowl water, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 teaspoon chili sauce and stir well.
Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and it is ready.
Tips
Pork shoulder or pork belly with a little fat keeps the filling moist rather than dry.
A light hand with the seasoning suits the filling, since the tamarind sauce is already bold.
A fully cooled filling is easier to roll and tears the rice paper less.
Low heat suits the tamarind sauce, as a hard boil scorches the bottom of the pan.
Shave the lemongrass thin before mincing, since chopping the whole stalk leaves fibers that catch when you eat.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.